Lever-type door lock

ABSTRACT

Lever-type locking apparatus operated by a relatively small amount of hand-delivered torque for producing a relatively large amount of gripping force to tightly close and securely lock a panel door along the length of one edge leaving the door free of vibration and relatively safe against forcible entry and wherein the produced gripping force can be variably adjusted within a range of desired magnitudes and exerted at plural locations along the door&#39;&#39;s edge.

O United States Patent 11 1 [111 3,874,203 Bookout Apr. 1, 1975 {54] vER. p D L 2,469,113 5/1949 Hooker 292/332 9 [75] n e o F oy v. o o o g Grow; In ,589,872 3/1952 Schetky 298/23 [73] Assignee: Rock-Ola Manufacturing FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS C ti Chicago, 1 1,266,663 4/1968 Germany 70/208 7" Filed 1973 Primary ExaminerAlbert G. Craig, Jr. [21] App]. No.: 414,754 Attorney, Agent, or FirmDavis, McCaleb & Lucas [52] US. Cl 70/137, 70/208, 292/118, [57] ABSTRACT 292/196, 292/D1G. 49 [51] Int Cl Eosb 7/00 EOSC 3/08 Lever-type locking apparatus operated by a relatively [58] Fie'ld "70/136 142 146 small amount of hand-delivered torque for producing 70/708 18 a relatively large amount of gripping force to tightly 3 g g i close and securely look a panel door along the length of one edge leaving the door free of vibration and rel- [56] References Cited atively safe against forcible entry and wherein the produced gripping force can be variably adjusted within a UNITED STATES PATENTS range of desired magnitudes and exerted at plural 10- 567.621 9/1896 Smith 292/97 ations along the doors edge, 1,955,653 4/1934 Pcremi ct 211.... 292/215 2201.963 5/1940 Wartian 70/208 4 Claims, 5 Drawin Fi ures HTEUAFR 1:275

EMU 1 Hi 3 FIG.I

LEVER-TYPE DOOR LOCK SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to locking devices for doors, and more particularly to a lever-type door lock for grip locking one edge of a panel door against an underlying door jamb.

There are several types of door latches and locking mechanisms currently used to lock and partially draw tight a panel door against a door frame or jamb. One is a combination of a swivel latch handle and a striker plate. As the latch handle is rotated in a closing direction in a plane parallel to the panel door, a striker bar on the inside surface of the door is urged toward a locking position. Typically, this striker bar lodges into either a rigidly affixed locking receptacle or strikes against a striker plate. The locking receptacle, such as a U-shaped notch in the cabinet door jamb, is permanently affixed, thereby allowing for no relative adjustment of the force by which the panel door is tightened against the frame. Although the door is actually locked, it may not be drawn tight against the frame, depending on the relative position of the door, lock, jamb, and U" notch. And any such semi-loose condition in a panel door is readily receptive to forcible entry by jimmying.

Alternatively, when the striker plate of a swivel-type latch is mounted on a door jamb, the gripping force can be adjusted to a certain extent by changing the relative angle of incline between the plane of the striker plate and the plane of movement of the striker bar. The circular wiping motion of the striker bar against the inclined striker plate draws the door tight against the jamb, at least in the localized zone of the lock area. The greater the angle of incline, the greater the gripping force applied to the door. However, the greater the gripping force desired, the greater the hand-delivered torque required, thereby limiting the applied gripping force.

The addition of drop-rods, eccentrically actuated by the rotation of the swivel latch handle and driven into the door jamb at several locations, does add locking strength, and thus security protection. However, gripping force will not be increased by the addition of such drop-rods, i.e. the panel door may still remain in a semi'loose condition relative to the jamb even though securely locked.

Another variety of door locking mechanism is the pop-out, draw-close type. The popped-out or extended handle, as it is pushed towards a position flush with the door panel, advances a striker bar into a jamb slot thereby drawing close the door. Additionally, the handle can eccentrically extend drop-rods into receptacle jamb holes. In either form, this type latch merely locks the door at a specific closed position relative to the frame. It is not necessarily locked in a full, pressuretight condition which is desired so that no vibration or movement of the door is possible. Thus, with either type door lock, swivel or pop-out, the problem remains that while the door may be locked, it is not fully tightened against the jamb.

In contrast to the above-mentioned types of door locks, the present invention has as one feature the simultaneous ability of securely locking and drawing tight a panel door. Along the entire length of the sealing edge of the door, both locking and gripping forces are maintained. In the apparatus of the preferred embodiment of this invention, these forces are applied through door-mounted, grip locking plates that literally reach around and underengage the door jamb, thereby tightening the door against the jamb. These plates are operable in such av fashion that they may be positioned anywhere along the doors sealing edge. Both the ex treme top and bottom of the door receive the same gripping force as that force localized near the lock itself. This eliminates any rattling condition, on a loosely locked door which encourages forcible entry, allows undesirable air currents past a sealing edge, and causes other unwanted situations. As is evident, gripping force is just as important a feature in a door locks performance as is locking power. Moreover, the present invention allows this gripping power as applied to the jamb to be selectively varied so that a range of possible gripping forces is available while still maintaining the door in a locked position.

One specific use of the herein disclosed invention is found in securing the panel door of a vending machine, for instance, in a machine of the order disclosed in my prior US. Pat. No. 3,437,239 issued Apr. 8, 1969. Individual tastes differ among machine owners as the amount of gripping force they seek to utilize. When a machine door is locked, some owners desire the door loose to permit forced entry rather easily so that extensive damage is not wrought on the entire machine. Others would rather have considerable gripping force so that it is almost impossible to force open the door. The present invention, when utilized on vending machine doors, accommodates both extremes by selectively varying the applied gripping force through changing the force exerted on the gripping plates. Simple screw adjustments change the length. of travel of the applied force and thus its ultimate magnitude. Moreover, once this force is established, it is maintained through the utilization of a toggle joint which snaps past center, thereby locking-in that applied force.

It is an object of this invention to provide a door latch and locking means which, although simply operated with a relatively small amount of hand-delivered torque, provides a relatively large amount of gripping force to press a panel door against a door frame.

It is a further object of this invention to establish a gripping force in a door lock which can be adjustably varied within a range of desired magnitudes.

It is another object of this invention to provide a panel door locking apparatus wherein sufficient gripping force can be created without the need for permanently extended gripping handles thereby allowing the latch handle to be flushly-mounted, yet easily accessible and operable.

This invention has as another object the provision of apparatus for gripping a door jamb at plural locations, thereby spreading gripping force along a length of the door jamb and eliminating door vibration which may occur if gripping force is concentrated at one point.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent as the detailed description of a preferred form of the invention and its operation proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings:

In the Drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a preferred form of apparatus for a lever-type door lock as disclosed herein;

FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1, but showing the preferred form in a different position during its operational cycle;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view taken substantially at the position indicated by line 3-3 in FIG. 2, and in the direction indicated by the accompanying arrows;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of the preferred embodiments in still a different operating position, but depicting additional plural operating structure.

FIG. 5 is a partial top view, depicting additional cooperating structure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Having reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of this invention is depicted for illustrative purposes, the mechanism illustrated is adopted to both tightly close and securely lock a panel door along the length of its sealing edge wherein the gripping force utilized can be variably adjusted and wherein the use of an external handle to develop a sufficient hand-delivered locking torque is eliminated. Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lock mechanism, generally denoted by reference numeral 10, has a lock base 11 on which various parts of the mechanism are mounted for operational support; it being understood that the illustrated mechanism can be constructed for normal use in any relative alignment, although for purposes of this description, it will be understood that the mechanism is aligned vertically.

Snugly surrounding the lock base 11 in a shell-like manner is a frame structure 12. Its purpose is to effectuate operational mounting of the lock mechanism to a door-like structure such as the panel door 13 which is depicted for illustrative purposes in FIG. 5. Mounting support can be accomplished by any conventional means such as by table extensions 14 and 15 of frame structure 12. In FIGS. 1 and 2, both lock base 11 and frame structure 12 have been cut away to better show the operational structure of the mechanism. For future reference, it should be noted that lock base 11 has a generally rectangular-shaped internal cavity 16 opening towards the front of lock base 11, which for reference purposes of the detailed description herein will be understood to be towards the right-hand side of FIGS. 1 and 2.

Securely attached at one end of lock base 11 is a pin connection 17 about which various components freely pivot. Pin connection 17 is aligned parallel to the plane of the opening of internal cavity 16 and normal to the side walls (not shown) thereof. A lever handle 18 is pinned in a free swinging manner to lock base 11 by pin connection 17 thus enabling lever handle 18 to swing accurately about and in a plane normal to pin connection 17. In swinging lever handle 18 from a fullyunlatched or open position to a closed and locked position, a swing angle of 90, for example, is sufficient. It will be understood that any swing angle may be used so long as proper magnitudes of gripping force are devel- 0 ed.

FIG. 1 depicts the mechanism in a fully locked position. Lever handle 18 is aligned within and fits snugly into internal cavity 16 so that lever handle face 20 lies in a flush relationship to the front face 21 of the lock base 11. The lever handle 18 is maintained in a locked position within internal cavity 16 by means of latch plate 22. A pair of lock base flanges 23 (only one being shown) are integral extensions of lock base 11 formed rearwardly of internal cavity 16. Latch plate 22 is pinned for pivotal movements between lock base flanges 23 by flange pin 24. Latch plate 22 is spring biased towards a latch locking position by latch spring 25. A look pin 26 is inserted into lever handle 18 to engageably receive latching action from latch plate 22. When lever handle 18 is closed and latch plate 22 is spring biased to its locked position, lever handle l8 cannot be forced open.

To release the latching action developed by latch plate 22, a cam 27, rotatable by key operation of a conventional key lock means (not shown), is positioned at the lower end of lock base 11. Cam 27 is rigidly attached to shaft 28 by cam nut 30 and supported thereby for operational movements. The conventional cylinder key lock means (not shown) is supported by lock base 11 in lock cavity 31, as depicted in FIG. 2. Shaft 28 is a rotatable extension of the key lock means, thus insertion and rotation of a key in the conventional key lock means rotates both shaft 28 and cam 27.

As shown in FIG. 1, cam 27 is in a minimum radius position relative to latch plate 22 thereby allowing the latter to maintain fully latching action. As shown in FIG. 2, shaft 28 has been rotated by the conventional key lock means thereby placing cam 27 in a maximum radius position relative to the latch plate 22. This latter condition rotates the latch plate 22 into an unlatched position whereby no latching action is applied to lock pin 26.

Once the lever handle 18 is disengaged from the latch plate 22, the former is spring biased by spring 32 into an extended position easily accessible for gripping by hand. Bias spring 32 is mounted internally of lock base 1 1 in the central section of internal cavity 16 and operates against the back side of lever handle 18.

Besides lever handle 18 being pinned at pin connection 17, one end of a follower bracket 33 is mounted about pin connection 17 for operational support. Follower bracket 33 makes swinging movements about pin connection 17 in a plane normal to the latter. Lever handle 18 has driving surfaces located at its pivotal end near pin connection 17. A pair of such surfaces herein termed locking surface 34 is formed on handle 18 inward of pin connection 17 (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 4). When lever handle 18 is swung to a closed, latched position, each surface 34 engages against and drives a lower mating surface 35 of follower bracket 33. Once the lever handle 18 is locked into position by latch plate 22, continued swinging movement of the following bracket 33 is arrested when upper mating surface 36 thereon is forced against stop surface 37 of lock base 11. As will become apparent presently the fact that further swinging movement of follower bracket 33 is arrested is important since not only is an over-center locking position created thereby via a toggle joint made up of component parts of the mechanism, but this overcenter status is stable or locked, i.e. uncapable of being shifted without further action.

Retracting surface 38 of lever handle 18 is formed outward of pin connection 17 at the outer end of lever handle 18. Retracting surface 38 engages against upper mating surface 36 of follower bracket 33 when lever handle 18 is swung to a fully extended, unlatched position. Swinging movements of lever handle 18 in an unlatching direction will continue until lever handle face 20 snubs against stop surface 40 located near the upper end of lock base 11.

Opposite pin connection 17 on follower bracket 33 is a rigidly attached toggle pin 41. A U-shaped bolt bracket 42 is joined by toggle pin 41 to follower bracket 33 and is capable of making free swinging movements about follower bracket 33 as the latter swings about pin connection 17.

A bolt head 43 of toggle bolt 44 seats between toggle pin 41 and inner face 45 of bolt bracket 42 in such a fashion that free movement of bolt bracket 42 about toggle pin 41 is unimpaired and yet toggle bolt 44 cannot be dislodged. Threaded shank 46 of toggle bolt 44 extends through bolt hole 47 of bolt bracket 42 so that locking force and lineal throw can be transferred to other component parts.

Another U-shaped bracket, toggle yoke 48, has a retainer slot 50 formed at one end wherein a toggle nut 51 is inserted for retention by the former. Toggle yoke 48 and the retained toggle nut 51 are threaded onto the threaded shank 46 of toggle bolt 44 a sufficient distance to assure a secure threaded connection. The fact that the threaded connection of toggle yoke 48 through the retained toggle nut 51 and toggle bolt 44 can be adjusted is important since a change in the length of this connection influences the locking and gripping forces developed by its component parts, a factor which becomes more apparent as this description progresses.

Rigidly affixed at the end of toggle yoke 48 is a yoke pin 52. This yoke pin 52 connects the two parallel yoke arms 53 and 53' (the prime indicates similar shape by opposite location) of toggle yoke 48 to still another U- shaped bracket, driver yoke 54. The fact that driver yoke 54 has a somewhat narrower cross sectional distance between its constituent yoke arms, 55 and 55, than that between the yoke arms 53 and 53' of externally connected toggle yoke 48 allows the latter to freely rotate about the former on an axis defined by yoke pin 52. The U-shaped base 56 of driver yoke 54 cradles an elongated driver pin 57 for the transmission of the forces developed through out the lock mechanism to a suitable receiving surface, to be discussed later.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, locking mechanism 10 has a transfer rod 58 running in a plane parallel to the general alignment of lock mechanism 10. As noted above, the general alignment of lock mechanism 10 is unimportant. Furthermore, the relative alignment of transfer rod 58 to the rest of the component parts of lock mechanism 10 as detailed so far, is also of little importance, it being understood that while lever handle 18 may be aligned vertically, its operation may be exerted upon a transfer rod 58 in either vertical, horizontal, or inclined alignment.

As utilized in the preferred embodiment of the invention described herein, the vertically aligned transfer rod is operationally supported on panel door 13 by conventional bearing support means 59, which maintain transfer rod 58 in a vertical alignment with respect to locking mechanism 10 and allow transfer rod 58 to rotate about its vertical axis. However, bearing support means 59 do not allow transfer rod 58 to shift in an axial direction. Rigidly attached to transfer rod 58 in planes normal to the latter by conventional means, such as welding, is a set of locking plates 60 and 61. Each of locking plates 60, 61 individually defines a plane of operation normal to transfer rod 58. Since locking plates 60, 61 are permanently affixed to transfer rod 58, any movement of locking plates 60, 61 in tab 62 through which a pin hole 64 is placed. Threaded down through pin hole 63 of locking plate (exactly similar to pin hole 64 of locking plate 61), and extending between yoke pin 52 and the U-shaped face 56 of driver yoke 54, and through hole 64 of locking plate 61, is driver pin 57. Head 65 of driver pin 57 seats upon surface 66 of locking plate 60 thereby maintaining pinned connection of all of the elements through which it has been threaded, as mentioned above. In the outer end of driver pin 57 is a retainer hole 67 through which one end of return spring 68 is securely attached. The other end of return spring 68 is attached to lock base 11 at the lower end of rear surface 70. During all of its operational movements, return spring 68 is maintained in a tensioned condition. As will become apparent later, return spring 68 urges mechanism 10 to retract to its unlocked position.

A finger-like lock tab 71 is formed on both of locking plates 60, 61 as shown in FIG. 5. Since lock tab 71 on locking plate 60 is exactly similar in shape, location and operation to the corresponding tab (also denoted lock tab 71) on locking plate 61, it will be understood that a description of lock tab 71 refers to the finger-like extension on each locking plate. When placed in a locking position, lock tab 71 is forceably engaged against a correspondingly shaped door jamb 72. It is to be noted that door jamb 72 is of sufficient strength and of a proper shape so that when locking force is exerted by lock tab 71, door jamb 72 will maintain its rigid placement, thereby allowing proper gripping and locking actions to be maintained.

As mentioned earlier, once conventional key lock means has permitted rotation of cam 27 and the disengagement of latch plate 22 from lock pin 26, lever handle l8 is-biased away from lock base 11 by bias spring 32. Such action places lever handle 18 in a position to that indicated in FIG. 2, whereby hand-gripping of lever handle 18 is made easily accessible. So as to maintain the locking force already established by lock mechanism 10 and yet make gripping of lever handle 18 easy, locking surface 34 and retracting surface 38 are specially formed on lever handle 18 so as not to simultaneously engage their respective, corresponding mating surfaces 35, 36 of follower bracket 33. The fact that these surfaces do not simultaneously engage accounts for some lost motion action between lever handle 18 and follower bracket 33 as the handle 18 rotates about pin connection 17 from its fully locked position as depicted in FIG. 1 to its intermediate position where lever handle 18 is released and yet locking force is still maintained, (see FIG. 2). The combination of spring biasing by spring 32 and the lost motion action as noted above, produces a situation wherein lever handle 18 may be raised to its intermediate position and yet no locking force is changed, i.e., lock tab 71 still maintains forceable engagement with door jamb 72. If locking force were exerted on lever handle 18 at all times, upon key rotation of shaft 28 and cam 27 to unlatch plate 22, lever handle 18 undesirably would fly open to full extension. It is only upon raising lever handle 18 to a point where retracting surface 38 engages and drives upper mating surface 36 of follower bracket 33 that any locking force is changed.

Since earlier in this detailed description the unlatching operation of latch plate 22 and the spring biasing, lost motion action of lever handle 18 is discussed, description of the operation sequence of lock mechanism 10 now turns to the intermediate point as depicted in FIG. 2.

Here, raising of the lever handle 18 to an extended position forces retracting surface 38 to engage and drive against upper mating surface 36 of follower bracket 33. Under such action, toggle pin 41 is forced in a downward, arced direction towards rear surface 70 of lock base 11', away from its raised, locked position of FIG. 1. Because of the various linkage connections described above, a downward movement of toggle pin 41 retracts a toggle joint mechanism comprised of the following component parts: follower bracket 33, toggle pin 41, bolt bracket 42, toggle bolt 44, toggle nut 51, toggle yoke 48, yoke pin 52, and driver yoke 54. This toggle joint mechanism, generally denoted by reference numeral 73, can be placed in several operational positions. It is in an over center, snapped position in FIG. 1. In the intermediate position shown in FIG. 2, all of the force application points of the toggle mechanism are in a straight line. The toggle joint mechanism 73 is in an unextended, retracted position in FIG. 4. F01- lower bracket 33 directly transfers an applied force received at its upper mating surface 36 from lever handle 18 to toggle pin 41 thereby forcing it in a downward, arced direction. Downward movement of toggle pin 41 retracts toggle bolt 44 because its bolt head 43 is retained, and thus forced downward, by bolt bracket 42. Such a retraction of toggle bolt 44 correspondingly retracts toggle yoke 48 and also driver yoke 54. As to the makeup of the mechanical linkage, of toggle joint mechanism 73, follower bracket 33 constitutes one arm, and the collective combination of yoke pin 52, toggle yoke 48, toggle nut 51, toggle bolt 44, and bolt bracket 42 constitutes the other arm. The collective arm regulates the throw or movement of pin 52 thereby producing a selected degree of applied locking force as will appear presently.

When toggle pin 41 is forced downward retracting the collective arm of toggle joint mechanism 73, yoke pin 52 is moved to the position depicted in FIG. 4. Swinging movements of lever handle 18 will alternatively retract and advance toggle joint mechanism 73 thereby throwing or moving yoke pin 52 correspondingly. The fully advanced position of yoke pin 52 is depicted in both FIGS. 1 and 5, whereas the fully retracted position of yoke pin 52 is depicted in FIG. 4. This throw of yoke pin 52 corespondingly causes movement of driver pin 57, since the latter is cradled between yoke pin 52 and the U-shaped base 56 of driver yoke 54. Although some motion is lost between the movement of yoke pin 52 and the corresponding movement of driver pin 57 because the latter is loosely cradled between its mating parts, any movement of driver pin 57 is directly reflected by locking plates 60, 61. Since locking plates 60 and 61 are permanently affixed to transfer rod 58, any movements of locking plates 60, 61 produces rotation of transfer rod 58.

As depicted in FIG. 5, driver pin 57 is pinned to locking plates 60, 61 in an eccentric condition. Since transfer rod 58 is supported by conventional bearing support means 59 near both its top and bottom ends on panel door 13, thereby affixing its vertical axis as its axis of rotation, any movement of transfer rod 58 and the rigidly attached locking plates 60, 61 cause the pin holes 63, 64 to travel in arcuate patterns within the parallel planes of operation of locking plates 60, 61. Thus, any movements of pin holes 63, 64 because of driver pin 57 correspondingly cause lock tab 71 to move in an arcuate pattern about the vertical axis of transfer rod 58. Throw of driver pin 57 directly causes lock tab 71 to advance into a locking position against door jamb 72, or alternatively, to retract from such locking condition thereby allowing the panel door to be in an unlocked condition capable of being opened.

Maximum locking force is developed by toggle joint mechanism 73 when its constituent toggle arms are in a straight line condition as depicted in FIG. 2. When lever handle 18 is hand rotated from its fully extended position of FIG. 4, to an intermediate position (not depicted in any figure) where locking surface 34 is engageably driving lower mating surface 35, this rotation delivers an applied force through follower bracket 33 to toggle pin 41. As toggle pin 41 rotates in an upward direction from its position as depicted in FIG. 4 to its straight line position as depicted in FIG. 2, toggle joint mechanism 73 has developed the maximum force of which it is capable. As noted earlier and as depicted in FIG. 5, this maximum force is transmitted to door jamb 72.

To maintain this maximum force so that it is continuously applied to door jamb 72 when the locking mechanism 10 is in its fully latched position, toggle joint mechanism 73 snaps into an over-center position as depicted in FIG. 1. Relatively loose fitting connections throughout the length of toggle mechanism 73 allow this over-center snapped position to be locked-in when toggle pin 41 is raised past the straight line alignment of toggle joint mechanism 73 as shown in FIG. 2. This locking-in of the developed maximum force will occur without any relaxation of the maximum force, i.e., no locking force magnitude is changed because of the loose fitting connections among the various component parts of toggle joint mechanism 73.

Thus, when lever handle 18 is released by latch plate 22 upon rotation of conventional key lock means and projected out by bias spring 32 to a position accessible to hand gripping, the maximum developed force is neither released nor diminished because of two reasons: the over-center snapped status of toggle joint mechanism 73, and the lost motion connection between the various surfaces of lever handle 18 and follower bracket 33.

A very important aspect of this invention is the fact that a maximum developed locking torque can be variably adjusted by changing the lineal relationships created within toggle joint mechanism 73, thereby changing the final lineal throw of yoke pin 52. As true with most toggle joint mechanisms, a variation in the length of the lever arm by which the final output force is applied correspondingly varies the magnitude of that output force. It will be appreciated readily that lengthening the lineal throw of yoke pin 52 by unthreading the screw connection between toggle nut 51 and the threaded shank 46 of toggle bolt 44, increases the produced throw of yoke pin 52 and ultimately the limit of rotational movement for the lock tabs 71. As long as the toggle joint mechanism 73 is capable of being snapped into an over-center position, any lineal throw may be utilized. It is left to the discretion of the operator of door latch mechanism as to what exact magnitude of developed locking torque will be exerted upon door jamb 72.

Another important aspect of this invention is that several sets of locking plates may be positioned anywhere along the entire length of transfer rod 58 enabling the locking force developed by locking mechanism 10 to be uniformly applied to door jamb 72 along its length. This is important so that the exerted locking force is not centralized in an area of the door jamb locally surrounding the point of application of lock tab 71 adjacent the locking mechanism. To the upper and lower extensions 58, 58 of transfer rod 58, as depicted in FIG. 4, are rigidly attached, by such conventional means as welding, plural sets of locking plates 60, 61 and 60", 61". There is no difference between these plural sets of locking plates and the originally described locking plates 60, 61 except for location on transfer rod 58. The entire length of transfer rod 58 is made of a material strong enough to withstand any tendency to twist along its axis. Thus any locking force directly applied through locking plates 60, 61 will be identically reflected at other locations along the length of transfer rod 58, such as at the location of upper locking plates 60, 61.

What is claimed is:

l. A lever type locking apparatus mountable on a door for securing the same to a stationary jamb, comprising: a lever handle pivotally supported on the door for limited movement about a fixed pivot axis and operable to apply locking force, toggle means pivotally supported at one end adjacent said handle and including means for adjustably altering the length thereof; said toggle means having portions selectively engageable with spaced portions on said handle whereby to lockingly and unlockingly actuate said toggle means in response to predetermined pivotal movements of said handle, rod means mounted on the door remotely of said handle for rotation on an axis paralleling the door jamb, grip plate means connected to said rod means for rotational movement therewith and operable to move past and underengage the door jamb for transmitting locking force thereto; and eccentric connection means between said toggle means and grip plate means for rotatably operating the latter and said rod means in response to actuation of said toggle means, the selected length of said toggle means serving to selectively alter the rotational movement of said grip plate means and the latters force of locking engagement with said door jamb.

2. The invention of claim 1, wherein said grip plate means comprises a plurality of individual grip plates positionable at selectively spaced locations along said rod means for simultaneously applying locking force to selectively separated areas of said jamb.

3. The invention of claim 1, wherein said toggle means is operable to snap to an over-center position for positively maintaining locking force on said jamb in response to movement of the said handle to one limit of its movement.

4. The invention of claim 3 and spring operated latch means for locking said handle at its one limit of movement, and key operated cam means for actuating said latch means to selectively release said handle. 

1. A lever type locking apparatus mountable on a door for securing the same to a stationary jamb, comprising: a lever handle pivotally supported on the door for limited movement about a fixed pivot axis and operable to apply locking force, toggle means pivotally supported at one end adjacent said handle and including means for adjustably altering the length thereof; said toggle means having portions selectively engageable with spaced portions on said handle whereby to lockingly and unlockingly actuate said toggle means in response to predetermined pivotal movements of said handle, rod means mounted on the door remotely of said handle for rotation on an axis paralleling the door jamb, grip plate means connected to said rod means for rotational movement therewith and operable to move past and underengage the door jamb for transmitting locking force thereto; and eccentric connection means between said toggle means and grip plate means for rotatably operating the latter and said rod means in response to actuation of said toggle means, the selected length of said toggle means serving to selectively alter the rotational movement of said grip plate means and the latter''s force of locking engagement with said door jamb.
 2. The invention of claim 1, wherein said grip plate means comprises a plurality of individual grip plates positionable at selectively spaced locations along said rod means for simultaneously applying locking force to selectively separated areas of said jamb.
 3. The invention of claim 1, wherein said toggle means is operable to snap to an over-center position for positively maintaining locking force on said jamb in response to movement of the said handle to one limit of its movement.
 4. The invention of claim 3 and spring operated latch means for locking said handle at its one limit of movement, and key operated cam means for actuating said latch means to selectively release said handle. 